Patients Need to Understand: Periodontal Disease is an Infection
The Periodontal Disease Cascade
- Periodontal disease is a persistent bacterial infection—the most common infection in adults
- Why is this infection often untreated?—or often treated only by mechanical means—unlike other infections?
Cascade of Periodontal Infection
Periodontal disease is actually a cascade of events triggered by the body's inflammatory response to an infection caused by certain bacteria:
- Toxins produced by the bacteria in a patient's plaque irritate the gums and stimulate an inflammatory response that begins to break down the tissues and bone that support the teeth
- This inflammatory response is not limited to the peridontium. Evolving research is pointing to a possible connection between periodontal disease and the elevated risk for systemic events
Periodontal disease is a cascade of events triggered by an inflammatory response to infection.
The Cascade Starts With Hard-to-Fight Biofilms
Periodontal bacteria—including a specific group of bacteria called red complex bacteria, which are responsible for periodontal disease—form thin layers called biofilms. These dense mixtures of bacteria are resistant to the body's natural infection-fighting mechanisms. These hard-to-eliminate biofilms exist both above and below the gingival margin.
What makes a bacterial biofilm so difficult to remove that even the most highly skilled dentist or dental hygienist cannot remove it all?
Biofilms are communities of bacteria that have evolved to live in the periodontal pocket. There is evidence that the bacteria in biofilms communicate with one another, and even build structures—self-protective matrix shields—that allow the cells to share nutrients and to shield themselves. As many as 10 million to 1 billion bacteria can be found in infected periodontal pockets. These bacteria can travel and form new colonies in other portions of the mouth.
